Sobakasu
by HelpMeI'mBaka
Summary: A certain guardian angel messed things up, now she's got to help her little brother set things right with a certain tanuki... But between the two of them, will they just end up making things worse? Ch. 8 up! REVIEWS, ONEGAI SHIMAS!
1. A Midnight Meeting

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Rurouni Kenshin and I don't know why I have to put this damn thing here since it's kinda obvious.

**Sobakasu**

part 1

"...Shinta..." It was dark, Kenshin knew that... "Hey, Shinta, wake up!" It was dark... he was sleepy... and someone was shaking him. And he didn't want to be awake. "Shinta-chaaannn..." The voice was getting a more annoyed tone to it now.

"..." poke ... ... ... pokepoke _...tsukiiii... quit iiit... _poke-"Shintaaa..." _...stop it, sa- ...tsuki? ...Satsuki?_

Kenshin's eyes blinked open and he sat up in bed, taking in his surroundings. His own room, at the Kamiya dojo. _Dreaming... of course. _He mentally shook himself and let out a quiet chuckle._ Of course... they've been gone for-_

"Aaaah, **there** we go!"

Kenshin gasped as he whirled around towards the source of the voice behind him. "Wh-"

She just sat there, smiling away- a redheaded girl of no more than fourteen. She was wearing strange white robes, in fact, everything about her seemed oddly pale. _But it's..._

**Ne-chan?**"

"Aww! How sweet, you remember me. Heheh!" She jumped forward and tackled him to the ground, grabbing him in a tight embrace.

"Orororo?"

"Hey, little one, long time no see!" she announced, letting him up from the floor, but still grasping tightly onto his hand. "Although... I guess you're not so little anymore, huh?"

Kenshin, of course, was too dumbfounded to speak. After all, he had just been pounced on, in the middle of the night, by his dead sister. He was still dreaming... yes, that was it... half-asleep... He rubbed his eyes and shook his head, trying to clear it.

"Oh... and no, you're not dreaming. See?" And with that, she took a tight pinch to the hand she was holding.

"OW!"

"Told you so..."

end pt. 1

(A/N)- Yes, it's short, I know. But that's just the intro, k? Won't say R&R, cuz if you've gotten this far, then that means you must've read. So plleeeaaassssee review? sparkly anime eyes Many thanks...


	2. Divine Intervention

**Disclaimer: **I refuse to admit what we all know to be true.

**Sobakasu**

part 2

--"Oh... and no, you're not dreaming. See?" And with that, she took a tight pinch to the hand she was holding.

"OW!"

"Told you so..."---

"Wha... who... how... ah..." Kenshin jerked his hand away and sat there staring at the girl, his mouth wide open. He tried to talk, but all he could get out were small parts of words that sounded more like nonsense than speech.

"Don't worry, it's really me, I'm here. Kinda dead, though..." And with that she stretched out a faintly glowing wing from behind her back, shrugging her shoulders like she'd done it a thousand times. "Heh..."

Kenshin stared for a few more seconds, then sank back against the wall and closed his eyes, and for a second she thought he had fainted. "Umm... Shinta?" She started to crawl forward and shake him again, but then somethng unexpected happened. ..._He was laughing._

"Heh... ha... hahaha... ahahahahaha..." He just sat there against the wall, laughing like he was insane.

"Ummm... Shintaa..." _Oh boy, what do I do now,_ she thought, puzzling over the situation. _Although I'm not really surprised... I'm supposed to be dead. I **am** dead. ...And I've **been** that way for 18 years... Maybe this wasn't the best way to do this. God, he's probably crapped his pants..._

"Well, it would seem that this one has finally lost his mind." Kenshin said as he sat up and looked forward at his visitor, surprising her with his sudden change in character. "Although... it **is** nice to see you again, ne-chan." He wore his famous rurouni smile on his face and seemed quite content, not insane at all. "But... this one must wonder..." He trailed off in the middle of his sentence, gazing at his supposed sister. _She has the same eyes, same hair, same laugh... even the same freckles on her face. It really is her. But why? Why am I seeing her like this? She died right after mother and father, but here she is now right in front of me, wering white robes and angel's wings. I'm very sure I **haven't** lost my mind, and I would've woken up by now if it was a dream... so what...?_

It was the angel girl who broke the silence first, letting out a sigh. "I told you, you're not dreaming. And you're not crazy either, unless you've managed to get that way in the past couple of minutes, and I wouldn't blame you if you did. I'm here for a reason, to help you. See, I did something really stupid yesterday, and as your guardian angel-" _Not to mention because it's **my** fault anyways..._

"Oro? Guardian angel...?"

"Yes, your guardian angel. I've been watching over you ever since... well, you know... What, you think that when you die you just sit around doing nothing all the time?" She looked up at him with questioning eyes, but he didn't answer so she continued on. "When someone dies, it's their responsibility to watch over their loved ones who are still alive. They make sure that that person is happy and has a good life until they pass on, and so on and so fourth... it's a continual process, really. Anyways, something happened that wasn't supposed to happen, and I have to fix it, 'cuz well, it's kinda my fault."

This put a whole new batch of questions in Kenshin's head. _'Her fault', she says? But what? Nothing bad happeded yesterday, in fact, it was unusually nice... _He pulled himself out of his thoughts and responded to her explanation. "But this one doesn't understand: What did you do that was so bad that you had to come here? Everything's going fine, this one is very happy with his life here at the dojo..."

"Ah, but that's because you didn't know what was going to happen, you just thought it was a regular old day like any other." Rolling her eyes, she looked at him and smiled as if saying, 'oh boy, I'm an idiot'. "I'll tell you but uh, ...promise you won't be mad?"

"This one won't get angry with you." Now this** really** got him wondering.

"Okay, I warned you..."

end pt.2

(A/N) Yup, forgot this last time, so here you go:

**ne-chan:** short for 'one-chan', this is what you call your older sister. True, Satsuki's in a fourteen-year-old body, but when she died, she was older than Kenshin. So she's 'big sister', not 'little sister'.

**sobakasu: '**freckles'. Also, the RK opening theme song, but translated, it means 'freckles'.

**oro:** An exclamation. Kenshin's own word, doesn't really mean anything. He says it in suprise, confusion, stuff like that. Kinda means 'huh?' or 'yikes'

Okay, so now you have an idea of why it's called Sobakasu... Anyways... Review! Or I shall eat you. Rawr. Seriously, I'm not asking for a novel, here. Just a simple 'liked it' or 'hated it' will suffice. Heck, you could even do this :-) or this :-(. Come on, it takes like, 2 seconds...


	3. Well, I was bored, so

**Disclaimer: **I refuse to state the obvious.

**Sobakasu**

part 3

--"I'll tell you but uh, ...promise you won't be mad?"

"This one won't get angry with you." Now this** really** got him wondering.

"Okay, I warned you..."---

_--_((oh joy, a flashback))----

_Kenshin sat alone on the porch of the dojo, gazing up at the sky. "It looks as though there will be rain again today, that it does...", he muttered quietly to himself. It had been pouring down for three days straight, though the showers had finally seemed to calm down a bit. Lost in thought though he was, he still manage to hear soft footsteps coming from behind him. The sound came closer and closer, and then, a voice to go with it._

_"...Kenshin?" Kaoru was looking down at him from the doorway. "What are you doing out here all by yourself? You'll catch a cold in this weather..." She sat down next to him and turned her head, waiting for him to say something._

_"Oh... This one was just looking at the sky, that's all." And he still was._

_"Hmm." They stayed there in silence for a few more moments, just taking in the atmosphere. Kaoru moved a little closer and turned around so that she was now fully facing him. "...Kenshin? Can I... ask you something?"_

_"Of course, Kaoru-dono. Ask this one anything you like." Kenshin smiled and looked towards the one next to him. He found that he was staring straight into her eyes... Her beautiful. blue. eyes..._

_"Kenshin, are you-... I mean-...", they were inching closer and closer, "...I-... Do you-"_

_**CCCRRRRRRAACKK!**_

_"AIIIEEEE!"_

_"ORORORO!"_

_"...Ummm... Kaoru-dono? You're uh... choking..."_

_"Aah! Sorry Kenshin!" _

_Kaoru dropped her grip on Kenshin's neck and jumped up from the floor. In her surprise, it would seem that our tanuki had latched onto the closest thing available for... latching.- Kenshin. -Both were blushing profusely._

_"Really, I'm sorry! It's just... the lightning... and um... well..."_

_Kenshin simply smiled, stood up, and dusted himself off. "It's alright Kaoru-dono... Come on, we should go inside before the storm begins..."_

_--_((darn, flashback's over...))----

"...and that was the day you were **supposed** **to** propose marriage to Kaoru, live happily ever after, and eventually have three children... ...Ummm... The end."

As the story sank in, Kenshin slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Satsuki followed suit and shut hers as well, awaiting his reaction. _Well, this is it... Prepare for the worst, I always say. He'll probably just go Battosai and slice me into little bitsy pieces... yep... ...No, he'll rip my wings off and beat me with them... **then** slice me... ...Wait, what happens if you get killed when you're already dead? Will I just not exist anymore? Or will I be a seperate conciousness inside each tiny piece of... of... Huh... well, not flesh... ...What the crap am I **made of**? ...Why don't I **know** these things! Oh, for the love of-_

"So..."

Satsuki's eyes flashed open and she was brought back to reality by the sound of Kenshin's voice. "Eh?"

"So... that lightning... was you?"

"Uhh... Well, not me **literally**, but uh... yeah... it was **caused** by me..."

"So you made that lightning bolt..."

Satsuki nodded her head 'yes'.

"...because you were bored..."

-nod-

"...and threw it at another lightning bolt..."

-nod-

"...and it bounced off..."

-nod-

"...and hit the tree beside the dojo."

"Yes."

"Mmm-hmm..." Kenshin wore a blank expression on his face.

Satsuki leaned in closer to him, tilting her head while trying to get a good look at his eyes through the curtain of red hair. "Heyyy... Remember you promised you wouldn't be mad."

"I'm not mad."

"... ...You just called yourself ' I ' ."

"No I didn't."

"You just did it again."

"**No**-- ..." Kenshin sighed in defeat and looked up at his 'older' sister. _-sigh-... Mind of a 14-year old, maturity level of a 4-year-old... Orooo... Still, she's right, I do need to calm down... _"Ne-chan, this one promises he isn't angry with you..."

The angel girl twirled her finger around in the air in a sarcastic 'woo-hoo'.

Kenshin ignored this oh-too-famillair gesture and continued on. "...But still, why is correcting this so important that you had to come here?" And though he turned slightly red at this remark, he added, "Wouldn't this one have eventually married Kaoru-dono anyways?"

"Well, yes, but... Ehhhh... How do I explain this?" Satsuki looked down at the floor, thinking for a moment, and then resumed her speech. "Ok, so picture this--

--Say you were to somehow go back in time a few years. Everything's going hunky-dorey fine, but then a mosquito starts buzzing in your ear. This, of course, annoys you, so naturally you decide to squish the little pest. -SPLAT!- You then return home to the present, but lo and behold, the world is desolate and barren, overrun by demons. What happened? What could have gone so horribly wrong in the past to cause this destruction? The answer: swatting that tiny, supposedly insignificant mosquito.--

--How did something so small cause such a huge catastrophy in the future? Simple. That mosquito was carrier of a deadly disease. It was meant to fly on, biting the man who would eventually make a pact with the ruler of Hell and gain control over the world. That man was supposed to die of the disease. But since there was no mosquito, there was no sickness. Hence, the terrible fate of the world was sealed."

"... So you're saying that if this one doesn't marry Kaoru-dono, the world will be overrun by demons?"

Satsuki covered her face in her hand and slowly shook her head. "**Noooo...** What I'm saying is that if this situation isn't returned to as close to normal as it can get by now, then something serious **could** happen to distort the pre-determined flow of time. Yeesh, no wonder Hiko calls you 'baka' all the time."

"This one shall ignore that comment, thank you. Besides, **you're** the baka who got us into this mess. Hmph. **Bored**, she says...", remarked Kenshin, crossing his arms. "Some angel you are."

"Hey, even when you were seven, mother always said you were more mature than me sometimes..." Satsuki shrugged her shoulders. "Aaaannd, I've done a pretty good job so far, if I do say so myself! How do you think you-"

-"Kenshin?"-

They were interrupted my a quiet knock at the door of Kenshin's bedroom. During their late-night discussion, they had failed to notice the rising of the sun and chirping of birds as morning arrived.

Kaoru sild open the door and peeked into the room. "Kenshin, are you feeling okay? You're usually up and halfway through the laundry by now... Ummmm... Were you- **talking** to yourself?"

end pt 3

(A/N)Yaaayy, I think I'm getting into the swing of this whole 'writing' thing... That chapter was fun... ...Now... asking nicely didn't work, threats didn't work, so now I'll try bribery. -ahem- All who review... shall have happiness following them for the rest of their days, and shall be greatly rewarded in the afterlife! ...Probably. Maybe. I dunno. ...REVIEW! PLEASE! ONEGAI! T.T

...oh, ya... I try to go minimal on the Japanese, but... well, you know... at least I put a key at the end.

**-dono**- honorific. Like Mr. or Ms., except waaayyy more respectful.

**baka**- 'idiot' , or 'stupid'

**onegai**- 'I beg you' , used when asking for a favor. as in "review! I beg you!"

...did I mention to review? please?


	4. Redhaired Crazy

**Disclaimer:** I hereby disclaim myself from disclaiming with this disclaimer therefore I am disclaimedly disclaimed. Yeeahhh... something like that...

**Sobakasu**

part 3

--Kaoru sild open the door and peeked into the room. "Kenshin, are you feeling okay? You're usually up and halfway through the laundry by now... Ummmm... Were you- **talking** to yourself?"--

Kaoru surveyed the room with curiosity. Kenshin was leaning up against the wall, not in a sleeping position, but cross-legged and fully awake. His bedding was still a mess, and he was still in his sleeping clothes. But she **knew** she had heard his voice a moment ago...

"Ahh, um, ah--" A wide-eyed rurouni glanced nervously back and fourth, from Kaoru to the young angel girl on the head of his futon. _Oro! How to explain this one... ...? _"Uh- Kaoru-dono... this- um-"

Satsuki was waving her arms wildly and pointing towards the door. "Shintaaaa! Talk to her, talk to her!"

"Oro?"

"Nooo, look thataway! I'm not here! Turn around, talk to Kaoru, baka! She. Can't. See. Meee!"

"Can't see- ...Waah! Um, Kaoru-dono-" Kenshin whirled around to face Kaoru, who was already kneeling on the floor beside him. She reached up and felt his forehead worriedly.

"Kenshin," she questioned him again ,"are you alright? Do you have a fever...? You act like you're seeing things... And I heard you talking in here just a minute ago."

Managing to form a smile on his face, Kenshin removed Kaoru's hand and gently placed it on her lap. "Nothing is wrong at all with this one, he must have just been talking in his sleep, that's all." He realized he was still holding onto her hand and reluctantly let go.

"Mm-hmm..." Kaoru did not look at all convinced. She sighed and stood up, looking down at the rurouni, concern and irritation filling her eyes. _Oh, well. Whatever's up with him, it' s not like I'll get him to tell me anything... That idiot... always trying to keep everyone from worrying about him. I'll just have to watch him more closely and find out for myself. _"Well, I want you to just take a break today. No chores or anything, got it? You've been acting really wierd lately..."

"Oro? This one isn't wierd."

"Yeah, right.", came a remark from the back of the room, but only Kenshin heard it.

Kenshin's head turned towards the angel girl with an exhasperated look. "**You** stay out of this."

"Ehhh..?" Kaoru raised one eyebrow and looked at Kenshin even more curiously. "Okay, that settles it. You should just lay back down... No, on second thought, I think you need to get out of this room. Why don't you go outside and get some fresh air? I'll make your bed for you..."

"But-!"

"No 'but's! Now I'm going to step outside this room while you get dressed, and I want you to relax today! Got it? No scrubbing floors, no heating baths, no market trips, no **laundry**... nothing! You get any stranger and we're going to see Megumi..." _Oh, there is** definately **something going on with him... Kami, I hpoe he isn't going **crazy**... _With a shiver, she shook the thought out of her head and exited the room.

Meanwhile, back behind the closed doorway, Kenshin turned around and glared at his sister.

Satsuki merely stared right back at him. "Nice going, mush-brain."

"What are **you** talking about? You should have **told** this one no one else could see or hear you! And you could've kept your mouth shut a while ago, too... "

"I was getting to that! Now, hurry up and change clothes so we can get out of here and talk where no one can hear us. I'll go and wait by the front gate." She began to walk away, but turned around and made one last comment. "..And you** are** wierd. There's no denying that fact."

Kenshin put on his rurouni face and answered in the most innocent voice possible, "Oro? Well , this one wonders where he picked **that** quality up from, eh, ne-chan?"

Satsuki stuck out her tounge at him and walked right out through the wall. "**Scar-face**!"

"**Freckle-face!**", he shot back. He then realized that he had just yelled that out loud and buried his face in his hand. _Oro! She's rubbing off on me. Ohhh... **please**, don't let Kaoru-dono have heard that..._

Outside at the gate, Satsuki leaned back and just smiled at the sky. _Ah, sweet sibling rivalry. How I missed you **so**... Heheheh... _Her smile faded and she began to contemplate what she was going to do about the current situation. _Well... **that** was a great start... Shinta-chan's right, I realy **do** need to learn to keep my mouth shut sometimes... I wonder how long this is going to take? I have to hurry, though... every second things are out of order here, then that's another second gone awry in the future. It shouldn't be anything serious... Let's see... I think I'll have about one week, at the most. Shouldn't be too hard... After all, I don't actually have to make them fall in love, just to admit it. Hmm..._

Kenshin finished tying his hakama and went off to get the fishing pole.

Almost immediately, Kaoru seemed to appear out of nowhere. "Kenshin, where are you going?" Suspicion filled her voice.

"Just fishing. This one can do **that**, can't he?", he said in his sweetest voice.

Kaoru sighed and gave up trying to argue. _I guess fishing counts as relaxation... And he might get worse if he has** nothing** to do... _"Alright... Have fun."

"Yes, Mommy."

Predictably, a bokken came flying straight at Kenshin's head. "Mou, Kenshin, you **idiot**! I **dare** you to call me that again!" Kaoru stormed off to the dojo, a frightening thought coming to her mind. _AAaah! Oh no, I've rattled his brains even more!_

Smiling, rubbing the back of his head - which now had a big lump on it-, and resisting the urge to laugh, Kenshin headed off to meet his sister.

end pt.3

(A/N) (holding a knife and a Sanosuke plushie) REVIEW! OR I'LL KILL THE ROOSTER-HEAD! ... ... ...I'll do it! I'm crazy! Grrrrr... (starts foaming at the mouth) ...-Gasp!- OH NO! I got drool on my plushie! T.T


	5. Seven days

**Disclaimer:** (singing) I own nooottthiiinnnggg lalalalalaaaaaa... I am but a poor otakuuuuu... don't sue meeee... you jeeerrrrrkksss... lalalaliloolilooooo...

**Sobakasu**

part 5

--Predictably, a bokken came flying straight at Kenshin's head. "Mou, Kenshin, you **idiot**! I **dare** you to call me that again!" Kaoru stormed off to the dojo, a frightening thought coming to her mind. _AAaah! Oh no, I've rattled his brains even more!_

Smiling, rubbing the back of his head - which now had a big lump on it-, and resisting the urge to laugh, Kenshin headed off to meet his sister.--

"Ah, there you are!" Satsuki jumped up, and seeing the fishing pole in Kenshin's hand, turned and began to walk towards the river. "Fishing, huh? That'll work..."

Kenshin paused for a moment and narrowed hes eyes. "...Work for what..?", he asked, fearing some sort of crazy plan.

"Ehhh... I dunno, something to do while we talk!" Satsuki grinned at him over her shoulder and continued onward in between a walk and a skip. "Come onnnn...!"

Though he was slightly confused with the girl's sudden change in disposition, Kenshin followed after her, a smile easing onto his face as well.

Satsuki was humming a tune quietly to herself, when suddenly, she stopped and turned around. "Hey, Shinta! Remember the first time I went fishing with you?"

Not surprisingly, he did... "You think this one would forget **that**? You **pushed me **in the **river**."

"I did nooooot..."

"Yes, you did. And then a fish swam down this one's shirt. And then this one had a cold for two days afterwards."

"Oh, but it was your first big catch, too. You should thank me."

"Mm-**hmmm...**" Kenshin looked at his sister as if to say 'not happening, and if you think it is, then you're crazy.'

Satsuki laughed and they continued their walk in contented silence.

Later, down by the riverside, Kenshin and Satsuki sat staring at the fishing line in the water. "So...", began Kenshin, breaking the silence and getting them both back into a more serious mood. ,"...You said something about... why you were here..."

"Yeah. Listen, I really am sorry about that whole thing. If it weren't for me..." Satsuki looked back out at the water for a moment before continuing. "...Eh, well anyways, I've thought it over and I figure we'll have about a week to get things going right again, before stuff gets really out of whack."

Kenshin looked up startled and with a slight tinge of red on his face. "**One** week? This one has to marry Kaoru-dono in a **week**? Oro..."

"No no nooo...", Satsuki quickly interrupted. "Just **ask** her to. She'll say yes, don't worry... And also, Satsuki The Great is here! Never fear! Your very own guardian angel, at your service." Satsuki stood up and bowed, looking at Kenshin hopefully.

"Uh-huh... No offense ne-chan, but this one doesn't think you've done a vey good job of that so far. Exactly what do you plan on doing? No one can even see you except for this one..."

Satsuki frowned and stood up straight. "Bah! **Little** things, Shinta. Little things. You'd be surprised what help I can do. Think about it. Remember the fly?" -Kenshin nodded.- "Yeah, that's my point. Little things can have big results..." Satsuki looked around for a moment and spotted a good-sized stone. She picked it up, carried it from the river bank, and sat it in the middle of the path. "Satsuki The Great places a rock in an unsuspecting pathway... But it's no big deal, rrriiiight? Wrong! Observe."

Clearing her throat and imitating Kaoru's voice, she began walking along the pathway in a cheerful manner, alomost skipping instead of walking. "Ahh! It's sooo beautiful out here! Don't you agree, Kenshin?" Satsuki looked to her side, adressing an imaginary Kenshin walking next to her. "I could just stay out in this sunshine all day! Hehehehe!" She quickened her pace, 'not seeing' the stone and 'accidentally' tripping over it. "Wahhh!"

Kenshin jumped forward and caught the girl in his arms, not wanting her to hurt herself...

"Ah- ...Kenshin... ..." Satsuki was still impersonating Kaoru. She stared straight into Kenshin's eyes... Then reverted back to her normal self. "Now... use your imagination. You've got her in your arms, right where you want her... Gazing deeply into one another's eyes... You can't resist holding her closer..."

Kenshin stood and pulled his sister up with him. "Okay, this one gets it... You can stop being a know-it-all now." He was now a very bright shade of red.

Smiling, Satsuki headed back down to the riveside. "Well I'll try, but I probably won't get too far." She turned around, seeing Kenshin still standing in the exact same spot, still blushing just as much. "And stop **doing** that... No one wants to marry a tomato.", she announced, crossing her arms.

Even after all the rain throughout the week, they still didn't catch many fish, and the ones they did were too small to do anything with. So, after a while longer, the two headed back to the dojo. They were greeted, (or at least, Kenshin was) by a grumbling Sanosuke and Yahiko, both up to their elbows in laundry.

"Oi! Kenshin!" Sano stood up from the laundry tub. "What're you trying to pull here? You sit on your butt fishing all day while Jou-chan makes us do all this work, and you can't even manage to bring us back some food?"

Kenshin smiled and scratched the back of his head, shrugging his shoulders. "Sorry, Sano, but Kaoru-dono won't let this one do any chores at all. She seems to think this one is ill..."

"Well, ya look fine to me. I think you just wanted a day off."

Finishing the struggle to hang up a particularly stubborn kimono, Yahiko joined in the conversation. "Oh, shut up you rooster-head! You never do any work around here anyways, so just think of it as earning your-- mmph!" Sano flung another wet garmet at Yahiko's head, getting him entangled once more.

Sano enjoyed this sight for a moment, then turned his attention back on Kenshin. "Yeah, Jou-chan said something about that... Said she heard you talking to yourself and screaming something about freckles or something..."

Satsuki began to laugh at this point. Kenshin looked at her from the corners of his eyes, but didn't say anything. He'd learned his lesson last time... "Yes, this one must've still been half asleep. It's no cause for worry... Still, Kaoru-dono seems intent on getting this one 'well'."

As if on cue, Kaoru peeked her head out from the dojo. "Kenshin, you're back? Good, I was just about to start cooking lunch..."

"**NO!**", came three cries all at once.

A hush fell over the yard... They could almost feel Kaoru glaring daggers into them. " . . .What do you **mean**, 'no'?"

Before Sano or Yahiko could make the situation worse, Kenshin piped up, "Oh!... um... Kaoru-dono, you really shouldn't trouble yourself with it! Why don't you just let this one do it? It's no problem at all... really!"

Kaoru's anger seemed to subside a bit, but she was still determined. "Kenshin, what did I tell you? No working today. Now, go on about your business and the food will be ready in a little while..."

"What **food**? You couldn't cook anything to save your life, and ugly to boot!"

_Oro... _Kenshin thought, _You just **had** get your say in, didn't you Yahiko? _...Bokkens flew, curses and taunts filled the air... A typical day, really, in the lives of the residents of the Kamiya dojo. Or, at least, it would have been, were it not for one frecklefaced visitor, standing unseen to all but one. To that one person, the day had been anything but typical. And he had a sneaking suspicion that things were only going to get stranger in the next few days...

end pt5

(A/N) Hi. Welll... wellywellywellywell... My cousin pointed something out to me a few days ago. Said I'd probably get more hits on this story if I hadn't named it after the opening theme song of RK. Said it makes it look like I'm not creative enough to think of an original title. (Yes, she would know, seeing as how she's never written anything in her life...) Makes sense, though. But there's kind of a reason I called it that. Nothing big, really, not some kind of huge revelation or anything... it just kind of ties in at the ending... ehh, you'll see... Personally, I think I'm doing pretty good, seeing as how this is my first attempt at a fanfic. Ah, to each his own, though.

Now... I know who you are and you know what I want, so let's make a little exchange, shall we? (okay, that made no sense whatsoever.) ... ... ...-cough-review-cough-... ...


	6. Interlude

**Disclaimer:** Please stop taunting me...

**Sobakasu**

part 6

_-- --_

_--**"GET THE HELL OFF HIM**!" A flurry of orange seemed to shoot out of no where, Satsuki was latched onto the man's back with her arms jerking back on his neck as hard as she could. He had lost his hold on Shinta's gi collar and dropped him on the ground, and was now whirling around trying to peel the girl off of his back._

_Satsuki was screaming at her brother to run, but before he could even get to his feet another man caught hold of him. "Little rats..." Even though he squirmed and kicked as hard as he could, there was not much Shinta could do to get away- especially considering the fact that the man was about four times his own size._

_The other man had managed to shake Satsuki off, but as soon as she hit the ground she lunged forward and tackled his legs, causing him to lose balance and fall. She made a run for the one who had Shinta, but the man behind her grabbed her by the ponytail and jerked her back. On her way down, she flung her elbow back and bloodied the his nose. Screaming with rage, he hurled Satsuki into a tree and drew his blade to her throat, trapping her there._

_"Hey, Toji, can I kill this one? No one'll wanna buy a wench like her anyways..." He inched his sword closer into her neck, causing a tiny stream of blood to flow out. The other man shrugged his shoulders and nodded, turning and walking away with Shinta slung over his shoulder. Shinta panicked and fought even harder to get loose. "**NE-CHAN NO!**" _

_And his eyes grew wide as he watched the man swing his blade, watched his sister's blood begin to cover the ground._

_--His vision blurred, he was hiddin behind a woman's kimono sleeve, her arms wrapped around him. He watched as one by one, the bandits slew the women whom he had also come to call 'sisters'. He watched as his last 'sister' was lifted away from him, looked into her eyes as she spoke her last words. "Live, Shinta..." And then she was gone as well, her voice cut off and her eyes grew dull._

_--He was burying his 'sisters', his small arms were already exhausted from digging the graves, but still he managed to carry them. He had to be strong, there were still more graves to dig, so many more graves... He looked down for the last time at the girl in his arms-_

_--and he looked into her eyes, tears pouring out, as she carved another scar on his cheek with her dagger. It was his fault, all his fault, he had killed her. It was his fault, everything, he couldn't protect any of them. Everyone dead, everyone. Blood everywhere. He couldn't save them and now they were dead, all of them, gone, dead, all his fault. Tou-san. Kaa-chan. Ne-chan. Tomoe. Ne-chan... Tomoe... Tomoe...--_

"**Tomoe!**"

He awoke in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. His thoughts rushed around in his head for a moment, then he realized where he was. Home. Only a dream. Just a nightmare...

"Dreaming about Tomoe-san?"

Kenshin's head snapped up, eyes wide and alert. There was a girl at the end of his futon, her head resting in her hands and her elbows on the blankets. _Wha- Ne-chan? But you're... _then it all came rushing back to him, yesterday, the angel- his sister, Kaoru, everything.

"I saaaiiid, Dreaming about Tomoe-san again? Or was it a nightmare..?" Satsuki tilted her head curiously. Kenshin simply nodded and laid back down, pulling the covers higher up on his shoulder. Of course, Satsuki would not be having that kind of behavior. Nope. And she promptly told him so as she crawled up next to him and began poking him in the back. "Heyyyy. Shintaaa... You **know** she's not mad at you, right?"

At this, Kenshin rolled over, eyebrows raised questionably. "How do y-?"

"What, you're forgetting that I'm dead, maybe?" Satsuki giggled faintly and smiled. "She's a good friend of mine, Tomoe-san is. We had a little talk before I left for here... She told me to tell you something. Summing it all up- she said she loves you and she's happy for you. It wasn't your fault and you know it. Now...", she said, pinching Kenshin's cheek and tugging upwards, "Smile. Satsuki The Great commands it, therefore it must be done. Or else. And go back to sleep. I'll have you know it's exactly twelve-twenty-seven and fifty-two seconds in the morning, and you have woken me up with your unnecessary tossings and turnings. Bah. The nerve of it all, the sheer injustice, I say..."

Kenshin was now smiling of his own accord, he knew exactly what Satsuki was doing. She was trying to take his mind off of the nightmares by distracting him with her own self-centered complaining. And strangely enough, it was working. _Just like it always did..._ It was then that Kenshin realized that the girl was alot wiser than she let on. He supposed he had just been too young to see that before. Funny, even though she was in a mindset that was only half his own age, it still seemed as though she was the elder and he was just a child. He supposed it just came with being an angel...

"...I mean, sure, I don't really **need** the sleep, being immortal and all, but it's the principle that counts. You know how much I like naps and- Heyyy! What are you laughing at? I told you to go back to sleep, now respect your elders. A brat, that's what you are... Big ol' twenty-eight year old scarfaced **brat**. Humph." Satsuki got up and walked back down to the end of the room, sitting down and resuming her position against the wall. "You know what?" Her eyes narrowed into an over-exaggerated glare. "I hope you grow a **beard**. Yep. A big 'ol scraggly red beard, with tangles in it. And creepy-crawlies. That ought to give you something to have nightmares about. ...The Man-eating Beard... It stalks the dojo at night... Growing, growing, all the time, too monstorously huge to shave..."

"**Oro**..." ...Or he could be wrong. They could both just be crazy. In any case, he sure had been jumping to that conclusion alot lately.

"Yeah, that's right, you'd better 'oro'... ... ...G'night, scarface."

"Good night, freckleface."

"-cough-tanglybeard-cough-"

-end pt 6-

(A/N) Woo, filler! ...Yeah, that took too long to get posted... Sorry, my computer's been busted.; ... ...Kenshin with a beard... YEAH, THAT IS JUST PLAIN **DISTURBING. ** Not happening... Too scary... Hahahahaha...;;;

Review or you will be eaten by the Man-eating Beard.


	7. Sing A Little Song For You

**Disclaimer: **Okay, Watsuki-sensei, I just need to keep you locked up in my closet a weeee little bit longer...

**Sobakasu**

part 7

-- --

Kenshin was awoken by a ray of sunlight shining on his face. Sitting up, rubbing his eyes, he looked around. With dismay, he noticed that Satsuki was nowhere to be seen. Not for long, anyways.

"MORNING, SHINTAAAA!", yelled Satsuki, flinging open the shoji and tromping inside. "C'mon, get up. We have stuff to do, yup."

"Oro... Keep it down, ne-chan, you-" But then he remembered that no one else but he could hear her. Lucky, lucky Kenshin. "...What 'stuff'?"

Satsuki rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. "That was a dumb question, Shinta. So I'll just ignore it, I think. Mmmm-hmm. Come on, up up up!" She then ran out of the room with that odd half-skip of hers, leaving Kenshin by himself again.

By the time Satsuki reappeared, it was well into the day and Kenshin was out doing his second bucket of laundry, since yesterday's had been missed. "Hey Shinta."

"And where have you been all day, if it's any of this one's business?"

"Shinta, everything I do is your business. Uhmm... ...Or was it everything you do is **my** business..? ...In any case- Recon! Observation! Scoping things out, plotting, planning! Aaaannnd..."

"And? What is this wonderous plan you've come up for this one to humiliate himself with?"

"...I dunno." Satsuki slid down on the ground leaning on the laundry bucket, playing in the water with her fingers.

Kenshin smiled slightly and continued scrubbing at the fabric. "This one was right after all. You really have no idea what you're doing, do you ne-chan?"

"Mmmmm... Hey, look, there's Kaoru. Go tell her she's pretty."

"Oro. Is that the best you can come up with?"

"No, I'm serious, she's standing right behind you. Better stop talking to yourself."

"ORO!" Kenshin whirled around, only to see Kaoru still a good distance away, but still walking straight towards him. "Ne-chan, you said she was right behind me...", he whispered out of the corner of his mouth.

"Really? My depth perception must be a bit off... hehehe... scared ya."

Kaoru had her training clothes on, and a bokken slung over her shoulder. "Kenshin, have you seen Yahiko? This is the third day in a row he's skipped out on his lessons... Ooh I'm gonna belt him a good one..." Kaoru did look 'pretty', there's no doubt about that, but then again, Kenshin always thought she looked beautiful. So of course, it would have been no chore to tell her so... normally. But, seeing as how Kaoru was in such a bad mood, not to mention this wasn't the most ideal moment anyways...

-poke- "Shintaaa... Go on, tell her." -poke-... -poke-...

Ignoring his 'older' sister, Kenshin focused his attention on Kaoru. "No, sorry Kaoru-dono, this one has not-"

"SHINTAAAAaaa..." -poke-

"-seen Yahiko since this morning."

-poke- -poke- "Shinta, would you listen to me? Will you just-"

"This one would assume he is at the-"

"-make a move already and get this over with?"

"-Akabeko with Tsubame-dono, though." Then he added in a quiet but harsh whisper through his teeth, "Ne-chan, **stop it**!"

... ...-poke-

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Kaoru had gone to train by herself and, in her words, to get a good warmup for the 'spar' she and Yahiko would be having when he finally showed up.

Satsuki had gotten a push into the laundry bucket. Kenshin had gotten drenched as well when she shook her wings in an attempt to dry them. Basically- by the time everything was all said and done, the yard was just one big muddy mess. All in all, it had not been a very productive day.

"Hey. Shinta." Satsuki was perched on a tree branch, watching over her shoulder as Kenshin re-washed the laundry (which had been thouroughly muddied after she had dumped it over Kenshin's head). There was currently a peace treaty between the two. For now. "...I'm bored..."

"Don't be! It's dangerous when you are bored, it is..." Kenshin was trying his best to get out a dirt-stain in one of Kaoru's kimonos.

"Hey Shinta, sing with me! It'll make your work go faster..."

"Oro. This one does not sing, ne-chan. Can't you do it by yourself..?"

"Pllleeeeassse?"

"Ne-chan... why don't you just help this one with the washing? It's kind of your fault anyways."

Satsuki frowned, leaning backwards so she could hang upside down in the tree. "...But I need a backup voiiiice...Mleahhh...", she stuck her tounge out at Kenshin. After a few moments of swinging back and fourth, her face lit up as she remembered a game they would play when they were little. And, with a grin, she began in a singsong voice-"Mr. Rurouni, Mr. Rurouni, won't you sing with me somehow?"

Kenshin sighed and sang back- "No, I can't. I'm doing laundry now."

-"What have you got washing there?"-

-"Kaoru-dono's underwear."- ..._Oro! Just **had** to rhyme, didn't you?_

"Haha... -You're turning redder than your hair."-

It was at this point that Kenshin gave up. "Ne- chaaaan..."

"Okay, for real this time. Come on, sing!"

So Kenshin and Satsuki both began to sing. It was really too bad that they were the only ones that could hear the duet, as they sounded quite good, but anyone who happened to pick it up, they would only hear Kenshin. Which was how Kaoru found him, singing away at an old children's song that anyone who grew up in Japan would have known.

"Hey Ken-", but she she fell silent as she heard what he was doing. _Wow... he has such a beautiful singing voice. _She stood there for a moment listening to him, then approached as he stopped and stood up, (finally) finished with the laundry. "Kenshin! You've got such a great voice, why don't you ever sing at all?"

"Oro?" Kenshin turned around surprised. How had he not noticed her standing there?

"Your voice.", she explained, blushing. "I really like it, why don't you sing more often?"

_She likes it... when I sing..._ Kenshin smiled. "Well, if it makes you happy Kaoru-dono... This one will sing for you more."

They both stood there looking into each other's eyes as the sun set behind them. Meanwhile, a certain angel was still hanging upside down in a certain tree. _Ha. ,_She thought with a smirk, _Who says Satsuki doesn't know what she's doing?_

-end pt. 7-

(A/N) Hm. Oh, just in case you're wondering, that song that Kenshin and Satsuki were singing (Mr. Rurouni, Mr. Rurouni...)

comes from and old song that people would sing to tanukis and... Eh, I really don't wanna get into it, but... If you've ever seen the move 'Pom Poko', it's at the beginning and it goes like this-

"Mr. Racoon, Mr. Racoon, won't you play with me somehow?"

"No I can't, I'm eating dinner now."

"What's for dinner? I want some."

"I am eating pickled plums."

"Can I have one little plum?"

"No you can't you greedy bum."...

-and there's a bunch of other different versions, and... Yeah, I'll shut up now. ;;;

**IMPORTANT NOTICE- **Every time you read my story and don't review, God kills a manga artist. 0o You know what you must do, young jedi...


	8. Cooking Lessons

**Disclaimer:**Ok, don't make me sic my posse on you. I've already told you a thousand times I don't own RK, now stop taunting me.

**Sobakasu**

part 8

--the next day...--

Kenshin smiled as he stood in the kitchen preparing dinner, singing a soft, cheerful tune under his breath as he went. After another -ahem- 'fun-filled' day with his sister, consisting of the usual arguments over such pointless subjects as man-eating beards and him being a spineless, blushing tomato, he welcomed the calm. But... he supposed she was right about the spineless part. At least in some areas...

_Really, why **don't **I just go right out and tell her, _he thought, remembering one of Satsuki's remarks from earlier in the day. _After all, it would save alot of trouble... and embarrassment... and annoyance... -stupid freckleface...- _

Just this morning, Megumi had caught him 'yelling at a tree'. Sano had asked him why he kept 'telling a rock to "stop doing that"'. And... the best one of all... Tsubame had felt his head and asked if he had a fever after he had 'told a fat, hairy, bald man at the Akabeko- "If this one didn't love you, this one wouldprobably strangleyou."'.

"Orooo..." Hearing footsteps behind him, he turned and saw Kaoru entering the room, followed closely by Satsuki. She had an odd look on her face... while Satsuki was grinning as if something terribly amusing were about to happen. Which of course, immediatly made him suspicious. If only he knew... "What is it, Kaoru-dono? Is something wrong?"

"Um-" _Yahiko would never let me live this down..._ Kaoru scanned the room, making sure no one else was listening. "Kenshin... would you- um... Would you do me a favor?"

"Of course. What is it?"

Her voice got quieter and she looked toward the ground, still not making eye contact. "Will you...", Kaoru muttered something inaudible.

"Sorry, Kaoru-dono, you'll have to speak up."

"...willyouteachmehowtocook..."

"**What**?" ..._Did I just hear_...

Kaoru took a deep breath, stood up straight, glared at Kenshin, and answered through gritted teeth, "WOULD. YOU. TEACH. ME. HOW. TO. COOK."

"...Oro."

"AND JUST WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN, HUH?"

The shock wore off and Kenshin smlied, scratching the back of his head. "This one didn't mean anything, Kaoru-dono, of course you can have cooking lessons. It's just... Well, with the way you were acting, this one thought it was something serious..."

"I **AM** SERIOUS, BAKA!" She was glaring daggers at him now.

"Oro... That's not what this one meant, um... Kaoru-dono, why are you just now deciding to ask this one?", he asked, trying to change the subject.

Kaoru looked off to the side again and simply stated, "...Just because. Now, are you going to or not?"

Relief swept over him and he let out a sigh. Good, she was calmed down. "Of course, Kaoru-dono. Here, you can help this one make dinner right now..."

...And so began The Cooking Lesson of Doom. ...or something like that.

The 'little kitchen adventure' (as it would later be described by Satsuki) was filled with several 'oro's, 'mou's, and other comments, such as: "No, Kaoru-dono, the water goes in **before** the vegetables.", "Curry does not taste good with sugar in it.", and "No, you cook that for two **minutes,** not two **hours**."

But of course, with love comes patience, which this required alot of. Teaching someone to cook also includes physical contact, especially when said cooking student could not use a knife correctly if her life depended on it (and with countless tiny scars on her fingers to prove it). Satsuki The Great has forseen this.

"Ouch!" Kaoru winced and looked down at her bleeding index finger with a frown. "Honestly, I'm surprised I haven't cut one of them off by now..." Kenshin could sense the discouragement in her voice.

"Here, let this one see..." He took her hand in his and examined the cut closely. "Don't worry, it's not too bad." Then, to Kaoru's surprise, he put the finger to his mouth and drew out the blood until it stopped. After which, he took a rag and bandaged it carefully. "There.", he said, smiling. "All better."

"Um... Th-thank you, Kenshin.", Kaoru stammered. She knew she was blushing, but Kenshin didn't seem to notice. And if he did, he wasn't going to mention it.

Kenshin smiled, and, returning the knife to her, held his hand over hers and proceeded to help her cut up the remainder of the food. "Hold it like this and you won't cut yourself so much, see?"

"Mm-hmm..."

So, with the combined efforts of Kaoru and Kenshin, they did in fact manage to make something presentable (not to mention, edible). _And I got away with only one cut this time. _, thought Kaoru, smiling.

"Kaoru-dono, there's still one thing this one doesn't understand- Why didn't you just ask this one to help you out before? It would have saved you some time and trouble, that it would. Why did you suddenly decide to ask today?", Kenshin inquired again curiously.

"I... I'm really not sure. I just sort of woke up this morning and thought, '_Kenshin makes great food, I need to ask **him** to help me out.'_" Kaoru paused, thinking. "Plus, I knew you wouldn't tease me about it like Sano of Yahiko would've. Thanks a bunch, Kenshin.", she said, turning to him and smiling brightly.

"Anytime, Kaoru-dono."

Satsuki grinned. _Woohoo. One small step for Satsuki, one giant leap for Shinta and his tanuki girlfriend. Meh... A good wife needs to know how to cook anyways, after all, what if dear Shinta got sick?_

Yahiko had made a remark during dinner, causing Kaoru to chase him out of the room with a bokken. Sanosuke drifted off to do... well, whatever Sanosuke does. ...Which left Kenshin all alone with Satsuki. As cleaned the dishes, he turned to Satsuki and questioned her. "...You wouldn't have happeded to had anything to do with this, would you, ne-chan?"

Satsuki smirked.

_--1:07 a.m. Kamiya Dojo, Kaoru's Bedroom--_

_Three figures occupy the darkened room. One, a young kendo instructor, fast asleep in her bed. Two, a slightly smaller girl with long red hair tied up in a ponytail, crouched down with bangs falling forward to hide a curious freckled face, angel wings tucked behind her back. And three, a tall man with shorter, raven black hair, dressed in the same fashion as the girl next to him, wings and all._

_The man was crouched down beside Kaoru, with two glowing fingertips placed upon her head. Removing them, he stood to examine his work. "...All right. I'm done."_

_"Sweet!" Satsuki hopped up from the floor. "Thanks much. I owe you, Koshijiro-san."_

_"Not at all." The two took their leave of the room, standing outside to gaze up at the stars. "...Although you **did **drag me down here in the middle of the night just to plant ideas in my daughter's head... **literally**..."_

_"Aw, come on. This'll be fun. Besides, it's not like it'll hurt at all. Heck, anything's an improvment in her case..."_

_The man looked down at Satsuki. "...and are you **implying **something?"_

_"Whaaattt? The woman can't cook! You know it, I know it, and if it weren't for Shinta, all these people at the dojo would probably starve. Now, now, don't look at me like that, Koshijiro-san, I'm not blaming you. Heaven knows **you** couldn't have taught her... Yeesh, talk about the blind leading the blind..."_

_"Satsukiiii..."_

_"Eh?"_

_"Pray tell, have you ever heard of 'tact'? You are short, freckled, annoying, immature, and you have an ego the size of China. If not being able to cook were the least of your problems, then you'd be alot better off."_

_Satsuki crossed her arms. "Aw, now that's not true. You hurt my feelings, Koshijiro-san... ... ...I'm **telling**."_

_"...'telling'... what?"_

_"Mmm-hmm. I'll tell her you called her a 'what', too.", she added, grinning._

_Sudden realization dawned on Koshijiro's face. "Don't you dare go bothering my wife. Your feelings aren't hurt one bit and you know it." Satsuki ignored him and took off into the sky, laughing madly as she went. _

_"Satsuki, no! She's already still angry at me for betting you you couldn't hit that lightning bolt!"_

_"Oh, well that't **your** problem, isn't iiiit?"_

_--no more flashie-backie...--_

"...Eh, maybe. Not tellin' **you**." Kenshin sighed and continued washing, with Satsuki peering over his shoulder annoyingly. "... ...Missed a spot, Shinta."

-sigh- "Oro..."

--end pt. 8--

(A/N) Wheee, well that was fun. I have finally gotten off my lazy streak and messed around with my settings on here. Put up my profile, and also after some exploring I noticed I had to set it myself to enable anonymous reviews. So, all you anonymous people who don't have accounts on here, now you can review. Yay, joyness. (no, that's not a real word... yet.)

-ahem- Yes, review. Please. If you do... me love you long time. ...or something to that effect. REVIEW!


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